EEL News Service – Issue 2015/06 of 01 May 2015

Dear members of the EEL Network,

Allow me to present this new issue of the EEL News Service.

On 23 April, we have held our successful European Law Symposium on Better Regulation, here at the T.M.C. Asser Intitute, as part of our 50 years anniversary. Hereby I would like to thank those who could attend for their presence and participation.

Also, it is still possible to apply for the position of INTERN for the section EU environmental law at the T.M.C. Asser Institute in The Hague. More information can be found here.

Further, I can announce that two full scholarships are available for participants from India concerning the Asser Summer Programme on
International & European Environmental Law: The Future we Choose (24-28
August 2015). More information about the Summer Programme can be found here, while more information about the scholarships can be found here (.PDF).

General

European Commission’s DG for Environment Consultation:Consultation on the evaluation of the EU Timber Regulation two years after its entry into application (15/04/2015 – 03/07/2015)
The objective of this consultation is to gain stakeholder and public input regarding a review of Regulation (EU) 995/2010 (the EU Timber Regulation; the EUTR). The review will provide essential elements for the mandatory report to be submitted by the Commission by 3 December 2015 to the European Parliament and the Council. The report may be accompanied, if necessary, by appropriate legislative proposals.

Air

European Commission’s DG Research & Innovation News Alert:European Commission launches €3m prize to improve air quality in cities(16/04/2015)
The Commission announced a prize of €3 million to be awarded to the person or team that develops the best material to reduce the concentration of particulate matter in urban areas. The aim is to improve air quality in cities and reduce the serious health risks posed by particulate matter (PM), the air pollutant which has the most severe impact on health.

EurActiv Article:German cities show excessive air pollution levels(28/04/2015)
In many cities, air pollution from fine dust particles and nitrogen dioxide exceeds the maximum threshold levels, according to a new report from the Environment Ministry.

Chemicals

EurActiv Article:European Commission’s ‘Better Regulation’ has killed 100,000, say unions (24/04/2015)
On 28 April, European trade unions have remembered the 100,000 people who die from occupational cancers every year. The unions accuse the Commission of not protecting workers from chemicals which cause cancers, due to suspended work on the necessary legislation.

EurActiv Article:Business and the struggle between climate and profit(03/04/2015)
Business lobby groups use their influence to hold back EU legislation on climate change. The authors of a recent study believe this should force companies to reconsider their priorities.

EurActiv Article:A proposal to finance low carbon investment in Europe(07/04/2015)
This year is perilous in many respects for the bloc’s economy, but it is also rich in new opportunities, write Michel Aglietta, Étienne Espagne and Vincent Aussilloux. Climate change mitigation and adaptation is a field in which the European Union has a strong historical legitimacy and a responsibility to lead by example.

Politico Article:Paris climate deal ‘must have legislative backing’(13/04/2015)
Delegates at a United Nations climate summit in Paris at the end of this year are likely to agree on a global deal to reduce carbon emissions. Former UK deputy prime minister says that UN climate accord should be flexible, but must be translated into binding national legislation.

Politico Article:German emissions plan may breach EU rules (27/04/2015)
A scheme being proposed by Germany’s government to reach its emissions targets by slapping a penalty fee on some of the country’s oldest and most polluting coal-fired power plants may violate EU rules, its opponents warn.

Energy

JRC ArticleSmart grids in Europe: outlook and large scale application(01/04/2015)
On 1 April 2015, the JRC released two reports in the area of smart grids, which look at how smart grids research and innovation can help achieve the Energy Union’s targets of secure, sustainable, competitive and affordable energy.

JRC Article:New governance proposed to enhance energy renovation in buildings (08/04/2015)
The JRC has recently launched a new report calling for a concerted effort to phase out inefficient buildings from the European building stock. It highlights the critical role of building renovation in reaching the EU targets in terms of climate and energy, jobs and growth and cohesion policies and proposes a new governance structure to facilitate the transformation of the EU building stock from being an energy waster to being an energy producer.

EurActiv Article:TAP pipeline open to other shareholders, including Iran(09/04/2015)
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will carry Azeri gas to European markets, and is seen as Europe’s alternative to its reliance on Russia, is open to new shareholders, including Iran, a spokeswoman for the project said on 8 April.

EurActiv Article:Momentum swells behind North Seas Grid (09/04/2015)
The North Seas Grid should be one of the building blocks of the Energy Union, companies and campaigners have told EU energy ministers, as momentum builds behind the project connecting offshore wind farms in ten countries.

Euobserver Article:MEPs want Juncker fund to focus on energy saving projects (15/04/2015)
MEPs in the assembly’s industry and energy committee voted on Tuesday 14 April to call for at least €5 billion of the €16 billion guarantee provided by the EU budget to go into energy efficiency projects.

EurActiv Article:Dutch denounce gas extraction in Groningen (15/04/2015)
Concerned groups and opposition political parties in Holland’s Groningen province dragged the Dutch government to court to demand a halt to gas extraction from the field where production has hit 50 billion cubic metres annually (bcm/y).

Politico Article:Tusk’s rude awakening (20/04/2015)
The energy union as we now know it is far from Donald Tusk’s initial pitch. It’s a turf war between states, sector and Commission that’s bound to happen.

EurActiv Article:EU delays ban on halogen bulbs (21/04/2015)
EU member states have voted to postpone a ban on inefficient halogen light bulbs by two years – to 2018.

Politico Article:Parliament ready to concede biofuel fight (08/04/2015)
Faced with little alternative, MEPs are preparing to admit defeat on a controversial proposal to limit the kind of biofuel that can be used to meet EU renewable energy targets. MEPs wanted the legislation to be far stronger than the version being pushed through by member states.

EurActiv Article:Commission prepares minimal reform of GMO imports(09/04/2015)
The European executive plans to present a new legal framework for GMO imports by the end of the month. Member states could be given the final say over imports, a possibility that disappoints environmentalists.

Euobserver Article:EU threatens Thailand with fish product ban(21/04/2015)
The EU gave a “yellow card” over illegal fishing to Thailand, one of the EU’s main suppliers of cheap fish products. A procedure of dialogue is now open with Thailand, which has six months to take measures or face a EU ban of its products.

European Parliament Press Release:Fish discard ban: MEPs delay sanctions (28/04/2015)
Fishermen will have two years to “adapt” before sanctions for failing to comply with the new fish “discard” ban take effect, under a law passed by Parliament on Tuesday 28 April.

Politico Article:EU auditors rip €700 million farm program (28/04/2015)
The European Union’s top accounting watchdog issued a new report on Tuesday slamming a farming development fund as a failure. But the European Commission is defending the program and considering extending it for four more years.

European Parliament Press Release:New EU forest strategy: better management can boost rural jobs, say MEPs (28/04/2015)
The new EU forest strategy must focus on managing forests sustainably, promoting efficient use of the raw materials that they produce, and boosting the competitiveness of forest-related industry so as to create jobs, says a non-legislative resolution voted by Parliament on Tuesday 28 April.

Noise

European Commission’s DG for Research & Innovation:Keeping the noise down in city centres (08/04/2015)
If you live or work in a city centre, you will know how stressful constant traffic noise can be. But adaptations to roads, tyres, vehicles and urban planning could reduce traffic noise to less than one-tenth current levels in towns and cities, say EU researchers. They have paved the way by developing an approach – along with new designs for road surfaces and tyres – to turn the volume down.

Transport

EEA Article:New cars’ CO2 emissions well below Europe’s 2015 target(15/04/2015)
New cars sold in 2014 emit on average 2.6 % less CO2 than those sold in 2013 and almost 7 grammes of CO2/km below the 2015 target, according to provisional data published today by the European Environment Agency.

European Parliament Press Release:Ships’ CO2 emissions: MEPs adopt new reporting rules (28/04/2015)
Draft EU rules requiring ship owners using EU ports to monitor and report CO2 emissions each year received the support of the House on Tuesday. The new rules, already informally agreed with the Council of Ministers, will apply from 2018 on to ships over 5,000 gross tons, regardless of the country in which they are registered, as a first step towards cutting their greenhouse gas emissions.

Waste

viEUws Video:Newly-appointed FFA Chairman Janez Potočnik slams “immoral” levels of food waste (02/04/2015)
In an exclusive interview with viEUws, Janez Potočnik, former European Environment Commissioner (2010-2014) and chairman of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture and of the Rise Foundation, talks to AGRA FACTS journalist Rose O’Donovan about the future challenges facing the global agricultural sector.

29 – 30 May 2015

Event: 2015 EU-Arctic ConferenceTopic/Title: European Union and the ArcticOrganisation:Dundee University School of Law & K.G. Jensen Centre for the Law of the Sea (JCLOS)Venue: University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, UK

25 – 26 June 2015

Event: Inagural workshop of the UACES CRNTopic/Title: European Energy PolicyOrganisation:UACES CRN on the European Energy PolicyVenue: Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom